$48m hurdle standing in the way of Aussie young gun Oscar Piastri F1’s dream

Australia’s next F1 star is upon us, but there’s an unfair obstacle standing in the way of the young gun from achieving his F1 dream.

Oscar Piastri is tipped to be Australia’s next F1 driver.

It appears Oscar Piastri will be Australia’s next Formula One driver, but he may have to wait a little longer than expected to get his shot at the big time.

The 20-year-old from Melbourne has taken all before him in his career so far and he currently leads the Formula 2 championship — the competition one step below F1.

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Piastri is in red-hot form after he won the F2 feature race at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday (AEST).

He is on track for his third championship win in as many years, after he won the Formula Renault Eurocup title with R-ace GP in 2019 and the Formula 3 title in 2020 after he was snapped up by the Renault (now Alpine) academy.

Recent history suggests if a driver wins the Formula 2 championship, they are all but guaranteed to be awarded an F1 seat the following year.

Since 2005, only three Formula 2 winners have not gone on to drive in F1.

But the numbers are not falling in Piastri’s favour, with only one F1 seat still realistically up for grabs next season.

Oscar Piastri could be racing in F1 in the next year or two.

Valtteri Bottas will move to replace the retiring Kimi Raikkonen at Alfa Romeo and George Russell will take Bottas’ seat at Mercedes, allowing former Red Bull driver Alex Albon to fill Russell’s vacant spot at Williams.

With many F1 contracts already locked in for 2022, that leaves Alfa Romeo’s underperforming Antonio Giovinazzi the driver most likely to make way for and up-and-coming Formula 2 star.

But despite his sensational form, Piastri is far from a sure thing to be driving in F1 next year.

The favourite to graduate to F1 is Guanyu Zhou, an Alpine stablemate of Piastri who currently sits second behind the Aussie in the F2 standings.

Zhou reportedly has $48 million (AUD) in backing to help him secure a seat in the big leagues in 2022, which would see him become China’s first F1 driver.

Piastri would love to drive in F1 but realises he faces a very tough task to be selected for the sole vacant seat.

“I really don’t know, is the honest answer. There’s one spot left, there’s a hell of a lot of people trying to get it,” he said at Monza this weekend.

“Obviously I’m with Alpine, there’s no engine link there, so it’s not the most conventional route of getting there.

“I’ll be honest, the chances are very slim, but for my own sake I don’t want to give up hope yet. I still want to make a statement on track.

“It’s been a tough few weeks to be honest, watching all those seats fill up, but there’s still that one left and Alfa have all the time in the world to decide who they put in. So who knows? I have no idea.”

The young Aussie appears set to miss out on a 2022 F1 seat despite his sensational form.

Making matters even trickier is the fact the winner of the F2 championship is not allowed to compete in that category the next year, which would make Piastri’s path particularly murky if he doesn’t land an F1 seat.

“I’ve had a few suggestions of purposefully not winning it to do another year, but that’s just silly,” Piastri said.

“I want to win the championship and I think if I do win the championship, I’d be pretty annoyed if something at some point in the future didn’t arise from that.”

He admitted he’d be “pretty annoyed” if he wins the F2 title and doesn’t get an F1 seat next year.

“I’ve won two championships in a row and leading a third, but we’re still only halfway through this F2 year so a lot could change,” he said.

“All the F1 moves are happening now or have already happened so it’s a bit disappointing, the way it’s played out, because I really don’t know what more I could have done and today (securing pole) was quite nice to make a statement and I’m still here.

“I think it probably is just a case of bad timing but I still want to try and win this championship, obviously.”

A possible scenario could see Piastri elevated to Alpine’s F1 reserve driver, with a view to replacing Fernando Alonso or Esteban Ocon in 2023.

A rival of Piastri’s with more financial backing is set to take the last vacant F1 seat. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

The young gun is managed by a fellow Australian and former Red Bull driver Mark Webber, who knows he has an immense talent on his hands.

“It’s been an extraordinary performance for a first year rookie,” Webber told Wide World of Sports.

“We knew he was good, but he’s just absolutely immune to pressure, he’s been able to be there when it counts every weekend.

“He’s such a cool, calm and collected youngster.”

However, Webber acknowledged it is unlikely Piastri will be driving in F1 next year despite an incredible start to his career.

“He has to keep doing what he’s doing now, and hopefully when we can get the Australian Grand Prix up and running again he’ll be on the F1 grid,” Webber said.

“We don’t know how many guys are going to move up from F2 next year, but Oscar is one of two or three that have the talent to do it, rather than relying on money.

“He’s one of the best three juniors in the world in my opinion.

“Never say never, because strange things can happen in Formula One, there’s no doubt about that.

“The F2 championship doesn’t finish until December, nobody knows who’s going to win the championship, but obviously by then all the F1 seats will be taken.

“Next year, let’s see. We’re not excluding anything at this stage. Given what Oscar is doing, there’s naturally some interest in him.

“It’s pretty slim pickings right now for next year, but he’s in that final group, that’s exciting.

“Alpine know they have an insane asset that they own, and they need to work out what they’re going to do with someone of Oscar’s level.”

Piastri is tipped to be the Australia’s next F1 driver after Daniel Ricciardo.

Webber said Piastri may actually be disadvantaging himself by progressing too quickly, with Alpine’s F1 drivers Ocon and Alonso contracted for next season.

“That’s what people are talking about in the F1 paddock with Oscar,” Webber said.

“He’s actually gone too fast for Alpine, he’s gone up the ladder too quickly. Alpine have already got Ocon and Fernando for 2022.

“So it’s a bit of a headache for Alpine, how fast Oscar is progressing. That’s obviously a good problem to have. They don’t want to be losing him, they’re working hard to keep him and that’s a tremendous situation for Oscar to be in, because he’s doing all his talking on the track.”

As for whether Piastri deserves a shot at being an F1 driver ahead of Zhou, Webber is unequivocal in his support of his Aussie charge.

“Alpine know that Oscar should really be the only one,” he said.

“Zhou is doing well now, but he took three years to get through F3, and now it’s his third year of F2. He’s good at that level, but I highly doubt that he’s F1 material over the course of a season.

“We’ve seen a number of times that Oscar can adapt and deliver really quickly, and that’s what F1 teams like.